How popular is the baby name Namath in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Namath.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Namath


Posts that mention the name Namath

Interesting one-hit wonder names in the U.S. baby name data

single flower

They came, they went, and they never came back!

These baby names are one-hit wonders in the U.S. baby name data. That is, they’ve only popped up once, ever, in the entire dataset of U.S. baby names (which accounts for all names given to at least 5 U.S. babies per year since 1880).

There are thousands of one-hit wonders in the dataset, but the names below have interesting stories behind their single appearance, so these are the one-hits I’m writing specific posts about. Just click on a name to read more.

2020s

  • 2020: Jexi

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

1940s

1930s

1920s

1910s

1900s

  • (none yet)

1890s

As I discover (and write about) more one-hit wonders in the data, I’ll add the names/links to this page. In the meanwhile, do you have any favorite one-hit wonder baby names?

Image: Adapted from Solitary Poppy by Andy Beecroft under CC BY-SA 2.0.

[Latest update: Apr. 2024]

Where did the baby name Namath come from in 1978?

Joe Namath in the TV show "The Waverly Wonders" (1978).
Joe Namath

Quarterback Joe Namath played professional football from 1965 to 1977, mostly for the New York Jets. The Associated Press voted him AFL MVP twice: in 1968 and 1969.

But the baby name Namath didn’t pop up in the U.S. data until 1978. And it dropped out of the data the very next year.

  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: unlisted
  • 1978: 5 baby boys named Namath [debut]
  • 1977: unlisted
  • 1976: unlisted

So what made “Namath” a one-hit wonder baby name long after Joe’s prime, and just after his playing career had ended?

Television!

Namath starred in a short-lived sitcom called The Waverly Wonders in 1978. His character was a retired pro-basketball player who now coached basketball at a fictional high school in Wisconsin. The show was heavily promoted by NBC, but ratings were poor, and only four episodes aired (three in September, one in October).

Joe’s family name, originally spelled Németh, is of Hungarian origin and means “German.”

P.S. Before going pro, Joe Namath played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1962 and 1964.

Sources:

  • Joe Namath – Wikipedia
  • Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.